Two North Philadelphia Black historic sites, Zion Baptist Church and the Tanner House, have been awarded national African American Cultural Heritage grants

Just days after Philadelphia City Council gave initial approval of a $150,000 grant to help preserve the Tanner House, a national historic preservation organization announced Tuesday that it is providing grants to both the Tanner House and Zion Baptist Church.

The African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund, a program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, announced the funding for the two institutions as part of a total of $3.8 million in grants going to 40 Black historical sites around the country this year.

The Tanner House, at 2908 W. Diamond St., will receive a $100,000 grant, and Zion Baptist Church, at 3600 N. Broad St., will get a $150,000 grant.

Brent Leggs, executive director of the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund, said the fund was established in 2017 to recognize and preserve sites important to Black history.

He said it was especially significant at a time when Black history is being suppressed.

The Tanner House grant was part of the action fund’s traditional program that awards preservation grants to Black historic sites.

But the grant to Zion Baptist Church was awarded after the establishment this year of two new grant programs, one for preserving HBCUs, or historically Black colleges and universities, and another program called Conserving Black Modernism, which honors the works of Black architects.

» READ MORE: A city and church are celebrating the late Rev. Leon H. Sullivan, the ‘Lion of Zion,’ for his 100th birthday

Walter Livingston Jr., a Black architect, designed Zion Baptist Church in the early 1970s.

“Characterized by its dramatic clerestory walls composed of colorful staggered glass panels that rise above the brick first story, the church embodies a deep civil rights history, having been led by civil rights leader Reverend Leon Sullivan,” the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund said in describing the church.

Leggs said the Zion Baptist Church grant will first go toward developing a comprehensive assessment and preservation plan “to provide a road map” for preserving the building. There will also be limited capital improvements funding to address whatever urgent needs the preservation plan determines.

“I’m very excited the church has been granted this money,” said the Rev. Chauncey P. Harrison, Zion Baptist’s pastor. “I want to give kudos to our team who applied for this to make it happen.”

Leggs said the action fund, through a partnership with the Getty Foundation, will invest in 16 historical sites designed by Black architects over the next three years.

The Tanner House grant will be focused on repairing the exterior of the building, which will have a public benefit, Leggs said.

Since some donors have expressed reluctance to contribute to the Friends of the Tanner House’s efforts to preserve the house because it is technically still under private ownership, Leggs said the action fund decided the grant is vital.

» READ MORE: The historic Tanner House might receive $150K from the city for preservation efforts

The property owner is finalizing the transfer of the Tanner House to a nonprofit organization.

“We feel comfortable to provide this investment,” Leggs said. “If we don’t fund this project now, this building is not going to be standing in another six months or a year.”

City Council is expected to finalize its $150,000 grant in the city’s 2024 budget at its meeting Thursday.

“We’re excited … to make 2908 W. Diamond St. a world-class site of heritage engagement and a gathering space for our neighbors to realize their own skills, gifts, and dreams,” said Christopher R. Rogers, codirector of the Friends of the Tanner House.

“We still have a ways to go, but this grant will get us out of crisis mode and into planning for the long haul.”

The announcement on Tuesday also recognized Juneteenth, the federal holiday observed on June 19 that celebrates the emancipation of enslaved Black Americans.

A complete listing of this year’s grant recipients can be seen on the action fund website.